El Lefty Malo

5.12.2005

Magically Delicious

Let me tell you something: the Giants are exceedingly lucky this year.

Huh? Every top player injured? A return of the Jekyll-and-Hyde bullpen? Troubling regression of their promsing young moundsmen, Lowry and Williams? Under .500? That's lucky?

I'm talking about the luck of how bad it could really be if the Giants played a run of good teams to start the year, or a string of teams on hot streaks.

They were lucky to play only five vs. L.A and five vs. a hot Arizona team to start the year. No Cardinals, no Marlins, no Braves so far. As wobbly as they've been, four games is the Giants' longest losing streak of the year. They've lost a lot of series two games to one, yes, but they've managed to keep the wheels from falling off. When the Washington Nationals are the hottest team on your schedule for weeks on end, consider yourself lucky.

The luck continues: Houston (12-21), Colorado (9-22) and Oakland (14-20) are the next three opponents. Granted, it's Houston and Colorado in those pitcher-unfriendly locales -- and the Giants pitchers need all the friendliness they can clutch to their heaving bosoms right now. And granted, ten days from now the re-Beanified A's could be the hottest team in baseball.

At any moment, the Giants' luck could wear off and, in a fine-how-d'you-do turn of events, the sight of French vanilla and orange could prompt even Scott Doh!mann to sit up in the bullpen and say, "Whew, I am one lucky guy."

Three weeks until June. If the Giants can remain at or just above .500 and just a few games back of the division lead...if Schmidt comes back by June 1 throwing BBs (that's "bee-bee's," not "bases on balls")...if Ellison solidifies himself as the every day CF and leadoff guy...if Sabean makes a trade to bolster the bullpen...then I'll give these guys a fighting chance, even without a good Bonds prognosis.

Fun stat of the day:

Edgardo Alfonzo has returned to Earth -- a very nice patch of Earth, I might add, where citizens play a nimble third base, get on base 40% of the time and project to drive in 100 runs a season -- but the decline from the heady April days of .450 has been precipitous. We can take solace, however, in the fact that another familiar face has also begun the inevitable regression to the mean. That's mean as in "mean-spirited Giants' fans who only wish the worst for Neifi Perez."

What's a Lefty Malo?

It's an ancient Mexican baseball insult. Eighteen
years ago, I was pitching for my high school team in a tournament in Guadalajara, and two borrachos down
the third-base line heckled me with the insult "Lefty Malo," a.k.a., Bad Lefty.